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Windows Vista Indexer Sidebar Gadget

Martin Brinkmann — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 06:48:19 +0000

Ever wondered what and how the Windows Search Indexer is indexing your files in Windows Vista ? Wonder no more the Indexer Status Gadget displays information about the current indexing status and the number of indexed files in the Windows Vista sidebar. Don’t be surprised to see 100K or even more items in the index.

The Indexer Status (via Genbeta) Gadget has another interesting function which is probably even more useful than displaying the information about the search indexing process. Users can pause and resume the Windows indexer which is excellent if you want to make sure that the application that you start in a few seconds will have all possible system resources available.

Users who have installed the Windows Live 4.0 search update which is a preview release can enable its Index Now feature in Indexer Status as well.

New Windows Vista Gadgets

Martin Brinkmann — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:00:38 +0000

I’m not a huge fan of gadgets on the desktop. Does not really matter if they are implemented in the operating system or added by using a Widget engine. Placing gadgets on my desktop does not make lots of sense for me. Take a look at the available Gadgets at the Windows Live Gallery and you will probably understand why I feel that way. Why should I place another clock on the desktop, why a link to online radio or a game ? I may sound a bit old fashioned here but those things are not lifesaving enough that I would place them on my desktop.

But everyone has to make the decision on his own and I know that several of my friends are actually using the Windows Vista sidebar. The following is a list of gadgets for the Windows Vista sidebar that could find some fans among you.

All links lead directly to the download page at Windows Live that contains a download link, description, rating and user comments. One question that I would like to ask if you, if you use Windows Vista, also use the Vista sidebar and if you do which gadgets have been added to it. Lets start with a few new gadgets for Windows Vista.

Outlook Info displays several information about Microsoft Outlook including the number of unread emails, to-dos and a link to the calendar.

The Media Player gadget for the Vista sidebar offers control elements and drag and drop functionality. Looks ok if you are using Media Player as your main software player.

The Magic Folder helps you categorize files by moving them automatically into the right folder if you drop them onto the gadget. This means that picture files will for instance be automatically moved to the pictures folder.

Dictionary Gadget returns a word definition if the user enters a word or phrase in the text box.

CT Control is one of those gadgets that display system information but also some additional features like quick access to shutdown, log off buttons and a timer.

Screen Snaper is a gadget that provides functions to take screenshots.

6 Vista Sidebar Gadgets that are useful

Martin Brinkmann — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 17:17:04 +0000

I always thought that the Windows Vista sidebar was nice to look at but not very useful. It uses system resources to display a clock or some other gadgets that have pretty much no value at all in my daily routine. I did not want to just remove the sidebar without researching if there were gadgets that were actually that useful that I decided to keep the sidebar and use at least some of the gadgets all the time. Space is limited and I run some all of the time and some only if I need that information.

While browsing the Windows Live Gallery website I noticed that the best rated gadgets hat only a rating of 3 stars out of 5 possilbe which is a little bit strange to say the least. I’m using the Ebay sidebar tool, the Gmail gadget, the run gadget and the app launcher all the time while I use the battery monitor only if I’m using the notebook on the road.

Ebay Sidebar Tool – May display information about current sales, the watchlist and items that you bid on. Includes a quick search as well. Works with all localized eBay websites.
App Launcher – Add icons to the app launcher box which can be used to start software that is installed on your computer. Similar to a quick launch function.
Battery Monitor – Vista is running on my Toshiba notebook and it is nice that I can use the Battery Monitor to keep an eye on the battery level of my notebook. Pretty useful.
Run – Launch applications,open folders or open urls by typing their names in the run box.
Binsearch Sidebar – Binsearch is a great site that spiders Usenet posts on their site and makes those posts searchable. Now you can search using the sidebar gadget instead of going to the site first.
Gmail Reader – notifies you when you have new mail in your inbox. Can also display a summary of the 20 latest messages.